Nature of the Beast episode tag
by LtTanyaBoone
Summary: missing scene from Nature of the Beast S09E01 SO SPOILERS FOR THAT EPISODE!. Gibbs couldn't reach Tim and Ziva at first, here's why.


_Disclaimers:_ NCIS, the rights to the show and its characters do not belong to me. No money was made by this.  
><em>AN:_ English is not my native language. So please forgive me my grammar and spelling mistakes.  
><em>Spoilers: <strong>everything<strong>_  
><em>Pairing:<em> McGee/Ziva [McGiva]_  
><em>_Summary: _missing scene from _Nature of the Beast_ (S09E01). Gibbs couldn't reach McGee and Ziva for a while, here's why.

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><p>She is warm. And very comfortable. A little tired. Exhausted, maybe. But in a good way.<p>

Ziva shifts her legs, the satin sheets brushing against her naked skin, the limbs colliding with those of the person she is sharing a bed with. She smiles and presses her face into his smooth chest, eyes still closed as she feels Tim stir under her.

"Hngh." he mutters, letting go of her hand to raise his to his face to rub his eyes as his other strokes down her naked back. Ziva pulls her arm closer to wrap around his waist as she snuggles closer. In the few months they have semi-officially been a couple, she got used to waking up next to him.

A cell phone chimes from somewhere on the floor where their clothing has been thrown away carelessly. Ziva groans, rubbing her nose against Tim's skin.

"Go 'way." she mutters to whoever dares calling one of them at this ungodly hour. She feels Tim chuckle beneath her before he scoots up slightly, reaching for his watch on the nightstand and turning on the lamp. Ziva groans and rolls away from him, hiding her face underneath a pillow briefly before she comes out from under it, rubbing her eyes and yawning before sitting up slightly, holding the sheet to her.

"What's it time?" she asks, frowning, shaking her head.

"0443." Tim answers, yawning. He pulls the sheet away and already has his legs out the bed when the ringing ceases and he freezes. He turns to look at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Huh." he mutters, running a hand through his hair. "Was that yours or mine?" he asks her and she rolls her eyes at the question.

"You insisted on setting both our phones to the same ringtones, in case we accidentally switched them." she reminds him and he actually looks sorry for a second before he shrugs and gets back into bed.

"Can't be important if they stop calling." he decides, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close, his nose brushing hers. "Morning." he mutters and she brushes her lips over his.

"Morning yourself." Ziva whispers, tangling her legs with his again. "So, wanna go back to sleep?" she tries for nonchalant and knows it failed when she sees his large grin and feels his lips on hers again, his tongue darting out. Just as she's about to roll them over and for things to get interesting, the ringing starts again, this time coming from the living room. They both freeze in what they're doing, looking at each other.

"We're not on call, are we?" Tim asks her, his voice rising an octave and she feels herself flushing.

"I have no idea." she stammers. A second passes before they both scramble out of bed, Tim picking up his clothes and dressing as she races into the living room to find her purse and her cell phone.

"Shit shit shit!" Tim's voice sounds from the bedroom and he hobbles to her, showing her his cell and 7 missed calls from their boss. Ziva glances down at hers and feels like digging a hole for her body already when she sees the 6 missed calls and the caller id of Gibbs flashing brightly.

"David." she answers, trying to make herself sound sleepy, as if he just woke her up and she isn't feeling her heart beat at a hundred miles an hour. Hearing his words, her blood runs cold.

"What happened?" she asks, sinking down on the couch, not caring that she's not wearing anything. Tim stands, staring at her in confusion that slowly turns to worry.

"No, I… I don't know." she lies through her teeth, reaching for Tim's hand and squeezing it tightly. "I want to come. No, Gibbs, he is my partner, he needs-"

Ziva deflates, looking away from him. He catches her profile and sees her blinking rapidly. "Okay." she whispers. "Call me when there's anything new?" she asks and then hangs up, drawing a shaky breath. Tim gently runs his hand through her hair, waiting.

"Tony was shot." she starts and he suddenly feels lightheaded.

"Oh my God." is all he can whisper as she looks up at him, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

"He's fine, he was wearing a vest, but they found a bloody NCIS badge on him and didn't know if it was one of us, so Gibbs tried calling. Tony can't remember what happened, Gibbs and Cranston are trying to figure it out with him." Ziva tells him, her bottom lip trembling.

"Hey, I'm sure he's gonna be fine. He's Tony, nothing can get him down." Tim tells her and she nods but rests her head against his stomach still, her shoulders shaking. He can feel the moisture from her tears and wishes he could take the worry from her, but knows he can't.

The cell phone in his hand starts ringing and he picks up the call, already knowing who it is.

"Yeah boss?" he answers, running his hand through Ziva's hair and trying to comfort her while he listens to Gibbs repeating what he already told Ziva minutes before.

"Do you want me at the hospital?" Tim asks, thinking he knows the answer already.

_"No. You take care of Ziva, tell her it's gonna be okay. And that we'll discuss rule twelve when DiNozzo's got his memory back."_ his boss says before the dial-tone greets Tim's stunned silence. But when Ziva looks up at him with bleary eyes and tear-stained cheeks, he decides it's best to do what his boss told him, to take care of her. She doesn't need to worry about Gibbs knowing about them when she is already beside herself with the news about Tony. So he gently tugs her to her feet and steers her back into the bedroom, dropping his pants again when she crawls into bed. She snuggles into him immediately and he covers them, gently rubbing circles on her back until she falls asleep again while he is left pondering their dilemma.

Ever since she became an agent and Tony took a rain check for the wetting down and he went out with Ziva and Abby and Palmer, they got closer. It was then that he finally acknowledged the feelings he has for her to himself and decided that, since she wasn't going away any more, that he could stop fighting them and just live with them, seeing as she had a boyfriend, albeit an absent one. Yet he watched as she got worried and then angry at Ray's continued absence and his prolonged silence. It wasn't until four weeks after she originally became a full NCIS Special Agent that he found her in the park he takes Jethro to, sitting on a park bench and staring off into space. When he approached her and saw the tears on her cheeks, she had admitted that she had ended things with Ray. He had contacted her, finally, if only to tell her to stop writing him e-mails and she had blown up. They got into a huge fight and, as Ziva claimed, all of a sudden she hadn't known what had possessed her to remain with him for so long, how she could overlook his shortcomings for almost a year.

Tim had taken her to dinner that day, just to cheer her up, and that had turned into them cooking with each other regularly, drinking wine, eating delicious food - at least when Ziva prepared it, he was still trying to get the hang of it- and talking. Lots and lots of talking. Somewhere down the line, he must have made a comment too many, and she had figured out what he was really feeling for her. To his surprise, she hadn't put him into his place, hadn't told him that they could only be friends, but instead asked him that they take it slow. Which kinda went out the window after another two weeks. Ever since then, they have been around each other pretty much all the time, at work and at home, and he can't remember how he spend his evenings without her around. And now he's in bed, her naked and asleep while he is worrying not just about their partner, but about what will happen if their boss tells them that they cannot be a couple while working for him.

_FIN_

_reviews are very much appreciated_


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